SOIL
Which type of soil drains best and why?
Soil with a high proportion of sand. Since the particles are larger, the soil would become more porous (presence of holes), allowing water to pass through (permeability)
Which weakens trade winds- El Nino or La Nina?
El Nino
Which boundary create new crust?
Which atmospheric layer contains the weather?
Troposphere
What is a watershed?
An area where all water drains to a common point.
Which soil horizon contains the most organic matter?
O horizon
How does El Nino affect rainfall in the southeastern US?
It makes it wetter than normal.
What boundary causes island arcs?
Ocean-ocean convergent boundary (a curved chain of volcanic islands that forms at a convergent plate boundary where one oceanic plate subducts under another)
Why is the lower troposphere warmer than the upper?
Earth's surface heats the air from below by absorbing solar energy.
What temperature of water will a satellite first detect.
Warm water because it is less dense and closer to Earth's surface.
Why is clay soil poor for crops and what can be added to improve soil quality?
Particles are too small- low drainage, compaction, poor aeration. Adding compost may help improve soil structure.
Why does upwelling decrease during El Nino?
Warm water pipes up in the east + weak trade winds = suppressing of upwelling
Which type of boundary is the San Andreas Fault?
Transform Boundary
How is heat redistributed globally?
Atmospheric circulation (Hadley, Ferrel, Polar cells) + convection + wind
What data can help us identify non-point-source pollution, or pollution that does not have a specific source?
Analyze the topography to determine where water is flowing from upstream. This could determine where tributaries could have started from, and narrow down the source of pollution.
A soil samples is 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. What is the soil texture?
Loam
How does La Nina impact food webs?
Increases upwelling -> more nutrients -> more phytoplankton -> more fish
Describe subduction in one sentence.
A denser plate sinks beneath a les dense plate into the mantle.
Describe the motions of the Hadley cell.
Warm air rises at equator, travels towards poles before sinking around 30 degrees latitude, driving trade winds in the tropics.
Why do watershed boundaries matter for housing development?
Runoff flows downhill, affecting flooding and erosion. We must study the watershed boundaries to ensure where we are building out house remains safe. Additionally, it could tell us where we can build a house to access well-water.
How does phosphorus and nitrogen aid plant growth?
Nitrogen - chlorophyll for photosynthesis, leaf and stem growth, protein formation
Phosphorus - flowering and fruiting (reproduction), energy transfer
How does weather change in South America during La Nina and El Nino?
El Nino - Warmer ocean, much wetter along coast, fisheries collapse
La Nina - Colder ocean, much drier than normal, fisheries increase
What boundary forms nonvolcanic mountains and which one does?
Continental-Continental convergence makes mountains, Continental-Oceanic convergence can make volcanoes
Describe the coriolis effect.
The rotation of Earth causes moving air to curve, creating this effect that influences global wind patterns and ocean currents.
How might a dam impact downstream ecosystems?
Reduces water/sediment flow which changes the habitat in the delta ecosystems downstream